McCartney session left Perry starstruck

Aerosmith guitarist Joe's secret project with Beatles legend made him feel like a kid again

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Aerosmith's Joe Perry has admitted he was “like an open-mouthed kid” when he, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp got the chance to record with Paul McCartney.

The veteran guitarist is keeping details of the recent session under wraps for the moment, but he was in awe of the Beatles icon when they hooked up in the studio.

Perry tells Voices: “I was in the studio with Alice and Johnny. The three of us are looking at each other like, ‘Hey, we’re sitting here with Paul McCartney.’ We were like open-mouthed kids. He was really nice. He’s all about business – and at 72, he can still hit all those notes.

“I met him once or twice over the years to say hello, but to spend six to eight hours in a studio with him… he makes you feel like you’re recording with just another guy.”

Aerosmith are currently on the road in North America with their Let Rock Rule tour, and Perry is also working on a solo album while gearing up for the publication of his biography Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith later this year.

He says: “What I wanted to do with my book was figure out what I am today, considering when I was a kid I wanted to be a scientist. I didn’t have any musical background; then I heard The Beatles and pop music. I loved the music but I never thought I was going to be a rock star. 40 years later, here I am. I went from wanting to be a marine biologist to being grabbed by the back of the neck by rock’n’roll – and there was no getting away from it.”

“They haven’t read it and they’re not going to read it until it’s done,” he states. “I bet they think it’s going to be a lot worse than it is. They know I’m not going to throw anybody under the bus. They know me well enough to know that.”